Peter Yarrow (1938–2025)

I was in college when I first saw Peter, Paul and Mary perform live. Like everyone else in the audience, I was enthralled seeing them run onto the stage, listening to the amazing harmony of their voices, laughing at Noel Paul Stookey's comedy routines and, perhaps most memorably, watching Mary Travers's long blonde hair fly around like living poetry.

Some of this magic is recalled in “Peter, Paul and Mary: Fifty Years in Music and Life” (2015). Although Mary died six years before this show more photographic biography was published, it is written in first person plural, as if all three of them participated in the writing.

The book covers the folk trio's entire career, but the best part of the book, like the best part of their career, comes early. They tell how they found each other, how they rehearsed for long hours in Mary's tiny Greenwich Village apartment and how their act soon exploded, coming on the scene at the perfect time when folk music became mainstream. The first song they ever sang together — just to see how their voices blended — was “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

Photographs occupy nearly every page, with the text used as filler around the edges. Some of these images, especially one taken by Annie Leibovitz taken late in their career, are stunning.

The latter half of the book mostly concerns the group's many progressive political and social causes. The book notes that despite their leftist views, which they never tried to hide, their fans included many people on the right and center of the spectrum. The book even includes a letter from a Warner Brothers Records executive who tells them how much he enjoys their music, while at the same time urging them to tone down their politics. The group was so popular they didn't have to listen to his advice. show less

Puff the Magic Dragon, written by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, illustrated by Eric Puybaret, is a great kids book, despite any speculation of the "hidden meaning" behind Puff. This story is an allegory, representing the loss of innocence, as Jackie Paper eventually "came no more" as he begins to grow up and move onto other things. It truly does do a great job at representing this topic, we are able to follow Jackie and Puff on their adventures, of course until Jackie moves on. At the end show more of the story, a little girl comes to play, this little girl is meant to be Jackie's daughter. I believe this is added to provide a happier ending, as the original song does not include this.
The book's art is very soft and dreamlike, with little details in the small characters around Jackie and Puff. Very easy on the eyes for children, not too overstimulating, and quite minimal but not completely boring. I gave it three stars as I feel this is not the coolest children's book I've read, however, it does carry a sweet message for both children and the adults who read it. show less

This had something more than a lot of your generic kids' song books in that there were these weird spoken-word interludes that "riff on" the bare bones of the action in the lyrics. I liked it for its eccentricity.

This is not some great example of children's literature, but it did fulfill its purpose as a book for young readers. I tend to view it with nostalgia since as a child I loved Puff. We had a 45 record of the associated songs and I can still sing them (but I promise I won't). The book addresses the self-imposed limitations of excessive fear and I think what remains appealing about it is its focus on the need to do what one can for others, even if afraid. I also like it that villains were show more treated as people with problems that made them unhappy- and that could be resolved with a little help from understanding friends or potential friends. I would recommend this book to interested children. show less